TEXAS – The 2020 Virtual NBA Draft will begin on Wednesday at 6 p.m. CT and two Texas teams have both a first- and second-round pick.
What You Need To Know
- San Antonio Spurs have highest pick since picking Tim Duncan at No. 1 in 1997
- Dallas Mavericks looking for perimeter players and front court strength with No. 18 and No. 31 picks
- Houston Rockets have not had a first-round pick since 2015, must buy into this year's draft
After a unique season that spanned nearly 12 months and ended with the late Kobe Bryant’s Los Angeles Lakers winning their first championship in a decade, teams are now ready to pick from the pool of top young talent across the country and the world.
The San Antonio Spurs and the Dallas Mavericks are both slated for one pick each in each round. The Houston Rockets do not have a secured spot in either round but don’t count them out just yet. Check out the draft previews below for what moves your favorite Texas team could make.
The Spurs have one of their highest pickets at No. 11 since the franchise picked Tim Duncan at No. 1 in 1997.
The team is not unfamiliar with grooming young talent into stars but the franchise does look very different since the Tim Duncan and Big Three era. Despite going 5-3 in the NBA bubble seeding games, the team’s young core consisting of last year’s draftees Keldon Johnson and Luka Samanic could not bring them to a 23rd record-breaking consecutive postseason.
With a focus on head coach Gregg Popovich’s passion for defense, NBA. Com is predicting the Spurs to choose from a group of young men with large wingspans and defensive strengths including Tyrese Haliburton, R.J. Hampton, or big man Patrick Williams of Florida State.
ESPN’s mock draft has the Spurs picking Devin Vassell of Florida State at No. 11, whom they compare to former Spurs player Danny Green’s three-point ability and efficiency on defense. Similar to the NBA’s own predictions, Yahoo! Sports listed Sadiq Bey, a 6’8" forward out of Villanova, for the Spurs No. 11 pick.
The Dallas Mavericks will only have one first-round pick over the next three years after dishing out major assets in the trade for Kristap Porzingis, who has made strides offensively in conjunction with powerhouse player Luka Doncic. This year, the Mavs will have the No. 18 and No. 31 pick.
Similar to the needs of the Spurs, this Dallas team is looking for strength along the three-point line and on the defensive effort. It may be a tug-of-war between the two teams as some of their options overlap. NBA.com has Sadiq Bay as a top pick for the Mavs but also named Isaiah Stewart as a possibility.
On the other hand, ESPN’s mock draft emphasized a pick to take pressure off Doncic’s guard position with the No. 18 pick as Kira Lewis out of Alabama. Yahoo! Sports sticks to the idea of a more active big man, with a No. 18 pick of 6’9" power forward/center Precious Achiuwa.
Last year, the Houston Rockets decided to pass on any additions from the draft, which left them with a small-ball function and ranked ninth in the league for defense.
While the Rockets have no secured spots in the 2020 NBA Draft, there is a possibility they could buy to pick up lowkey player like Serbian forward Aleksej Pokusevski, who recently played in the Greece.
According to USA Today Sports, the team may look to grab a late first first-round pick or an early second-round pick. The Rockets have not had a first-round pick since 2015, with Sam Dekker.